would you laugh at me ?

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Specializes in Emergency.

i suppose i'm asking, its not that bad, but i'm at my wits end.

i've been dizzy for a week - vertigo. i spin, or the room spins. bad headaches off and on, some nausea. no recent colds, no running nose, no itchy eyes, no sinus pain or ear pain, but a LOT of sensitivity to loud noises. i finally went to the walk in clinic yesterday (no health insurance, no money) and the doc said my wisdom teeth need to come out!

i know allnurses cannot recommend medical treatment, that's not what this post is about. i'm curious as to what all of you experienced ED folk consider an "emergency". there's a hospital near where i live who will remove impacted teeth if you come into the ED - i can't get in where i could afford the sliding scale fees for at least 2 months. i start nursing school back up in a week and i can't really fathom handling this vertigo and headaches for that long. would it be abusing your precious (i mean that seriously, not flippantly) resources in the ED to go there instead of waiting the 2+ months? how often do you see people in the ED for wisdom tooth related problems?

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Specializes in Emergency, Trauma.

We see dental problems/pain fairly frequently, but don't do any interventions for it other than pain relief and/or antibiotics along with a dentist referral. I'm surprised to hear that any ER would pull out wisdom teeth--are you sure that they would or is that a word of mouth type thing? There is a commonly prescribed med for the dizziness though, that may help.

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Specializes in Infection Preventionist/ Occ Health.

If your wisdom teeth are impacted, I would be very wary about getting them removed by anyone but an oral surgeon.

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Specializes in Emergency.

i think the idea is that you get seen in the ED and then immediately referred to an oral surgeon on site at the hospital. i called and spoke with the triage nurse at the hospital in question and she said that particular program had been shut down. so now i'm back to calling around trying to get in somewhere faster, where i can pay. thanks for your replies, guys. this sucks.

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Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.

In the ER in which I occasionally work, we only "treat and street" for oral problems. We do not pull teeth. We usually give script for antibiotics and then urge the patient to go to a dentist ASAP. Is there a dental school nearby (or somewhere in your state) with low-cost clinics?

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Specializes in ICU, ER, HH, NICU, now FNP.

No dental intervention in any ER I ever worked in either. Just treat the pain and refer was all we could do.

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If you called 911, insisted on being seen ahead of the chest pain, haven't taken anything like Aleve or Advil, claim you are allergic to every pain med "except that one that starts with 'D'," bring your entire family to keep you company, or bring a bag of chips and a bottle of Dr. Pepper and go outside to smoke while complaining that you have no money to pay for OTC pain meds, they might laugh at you, but I doubt it.

You're in severe pain...you're dizzy...the room is spinning. I think those are all pretty good reasons to go to the ER. You'll probably get an antibiotic, maybe something for pain, maybe an anti-inflammatory, and sometimes dentists will get you in sooner if they know you've required medical treatment for your dental problem. The ER is not just for life threats...life threats will be treated first, so you may have to wait, but you have a good reason to seek treatment.

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Specializes in Trauma/ED.

We have two different oral surgeons that will come and eval a bad dental case and sometimes actually call and schedule an OR room (usually the next day not day of). The last case I remember was a "meth-head" that got a full mouth extraction the following day.

I think this situation is not common, but we do see a ton of dental pains in our MEA or "Fast-track" side and most pt's get the typical ABO's and dental referral. We have certain dental clinics that are scheduled for our referrals so these pt's are seen before walk-in's etc.

If YOU feel it is an emergent issue and requires attention by a MD then go to the ER...should be up to you not anybody else. In my experience the gal that came in the other day after stapling her fingernail should not come in but you could make a case for your s/s.

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Ditto to everyone else on dental services in the ER. We give pain relief and antibiotics, but no interventions.

Have you attempted to find a nearby (or in the region) dental school ? Honestly, I would just yank out the old credit card and get it done. I'm sorry you are feeling so rough.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept.

The vertigo and dizziness would be a reason to go to the ER, but if it has already been diagnosed as a problem with your teeth then we wouldn't do anything but give you a script for pain meds and refer you to a dentist. Not a whole lot of help. Unfortunately teeth is something that is really hard to get taken care of without money/insurance.

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i think the idea is that you get seen in the ED and then immediately referred to an oral surgeon on site at the hospital. i called and spoke with the triage nurse at the hospital in question and she said that particular program had been shut down. so now i'm back to calling around trying to get in somewhere faster, where i can pay. thanks for your replies, guys. this sucks.

Hey, I'm sorry for you. Nursing school is hard enough w/o health-related interferences. Are they sure it's not an ear infection? Very similiar sx. Good luck. Hope this gets resolved soon. Let us know ...

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Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.

I have vertigo and it can be horrible and debilitating. Of course only a Dr can tell you what is causing your vertigo but make sure you ask him about it being an inner ear problem and performing the Epley--it totally cures my vertigo and can be done at home:

http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/full/63/1/150/DC1

Video 2 I think is the one, though both are good.

Here is a message board concerning Inner Ear Disorders if you find that is the case:

http://www.healthboards.com/boards/forumdisplay.php?f=76

Good luck. When I had my first attack of vertigo I went to the ER cause I was scared to death. They told me I was dehydrated. It was horrible. I was in bed for about a month dealing with this and couldn't even take care of my kids, all I could eat was Ensure for a month!! So the ER is probably not the best place to go, an ENT would be the best bet for this. I don't have any insurance either :(

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